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Salinity stress is one of the major abiotic stresses limiting crop productivity in arid and semi-arid regions. Halophytes play increasingly important roles as models for understanding the salt tolerance in plants and as genetic resources contributing towards the improvement of salt tolerance in crops. Suaeda fruticosa L. (Amaranthaceae) grows under extremely saline conditions and under osmotic stress near Sambhar Lake, which is the largest inland playa within the Thar desert of Western India. The ability to regulate photosynthetic machinery may help S. fruticosa to ensure population succession under extreme environmental conditions. Our expedition to Sambhar Lake allowed us to conclude that higher stability of Photosystem II (PSII), along with the enhanced resistance to the O2 evolving complex and the reaction centers of PSII, is responsible for the tolerance of S. fruticosa to salinity stress. Understanding the molecular mechanism and stress signaling in Suaeda sp. for stabilization of its photosynthetic machinery and maintenance of carbon balance under osmotic stress are expected to be extremely useful in designing crops for saline environments. We also describe here the ambiance of our bus trip from New Delhi to Sambhar Lake that led to the unique way of doing collaborative research with Govindjee, a leading authority on the use of chlorophyll a fluorescence in photosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]